Veritas NetBackup users are moving to disk-based backup solutions for a variety of reasons, including improved reliability, faster backups, and improved recovery. NetApp has partnered closely with Symantec to develop two advanced data protection solutions tailored for use with large NetBackup environments:
- SnapVault® for NetBackup allows NetBackup customers to add NetApp NearStore® and SnapVault software for a space-efficient method of protecting file and database data, all managed by NetBackup. This tool provides on-the-fly deduplication for a highly storage-efficient solution that leverages NetBackup management, monitoring, and reporting. Based on a joint development project between Symantec and NetApp, SnapVault for NetBackup is the first product to implement the Open Storage API and has been widely deployed.
- NearStore Virtual Tape Library (NearStore VTL) provides the highest possible sustained performance for optimizing tape backups and restores. NearStore VTL is an enterprise-class system that delivers superior speed, reliability, and integration for existing NetBackup environments. The combination of efficient VTL tape creation, fast restores from Shadow Tape, and hardware-accelerated compression dramatically improves the performance of traditional tape systems while reducing the overall costs of backup and restores.
Both options can be implemented with little or no impact on existing NetBackup environments.
A recent TechTalk highlighted how two IT organizations deployed disk-based backup solutions using NetBackup, one with NearStore VTL and the other using SnapVault for NetBackup. A related chat session generated a variety of additional questions (see).
Since Tech OnTap members have expressed interest in NetBackup, we've compiled answers to 10 commonly asked questions:
1. How do NetApp solutions reduce the cost of D2D backup?
If you use NetApp secondary storage, SnapVault software is typically the most efficient way to perform D2D backups. SnapVault leverages the unique NetApp Snapshot
TM technology to replicate only blocks that have changed since the last backup operation. This is much more efficient than traditional backup methods, which usually copy an entire file even when only a small number of blocks were modified.
SnapVault for NetBackup brings these advantages to file and application data being backed up by NetBackup 6.0 or greater. It reduces backup storage requirements by using "on-the-fly" deduplication, and easily integrates into existing NetBackup configurations.
If the data you want to back up isn't on NetApp storage but instead resides on EMC, Hitachi, HP, IBM, or any other storage platform, NearStore VTL provides the speed and reliability of disk-based backup technologies without requiring any changes to your existing software or backup process. In addition to reducing storage requirements through the use of advanced compression technology, NearStore VTL reduces costs by simplifying backup management and increasing the ROI of the existing tape infrastructure.
2. Which versions of NetBackup are compatible with NetApp VTL and SnapVault technologies?
NearStore VTL works with any version of NetBackup. SnapVault for NetBackup works with NetBackup 6.x. or greater.
3. Which applications and databases can SnapVault for NetBackup protect?
SnapVault for NetBackup currently supports several leading databases, including Oracle®, Microsoft® SQL Server
TM, Sybase, and Lotus Domino Server. SnapVault for NetBackup support for Microsoft Exchange Server is planned for 2008.
Supported NetBackup clients can also be installed within VMware virtual machines when used with SnapVault for NetBackup. Please refer to the NetBackup-supported platforms matrix found at support.veritas.com for full details about VMware support.
4. We use SnapVault to vault data from NetApp primary storage to a Netapp NearStore. Can NetBackup manage this backup process?
Yes. Starting with NetBackup 6.0, SnapVault backups can be managed using the NetBackup interface. With NetBackup 6.0 you can manage and monitor the SnapVault replication and catalog the files that are backed up using SnapVault.
5. Can SnapMirror® protect SnapVault for NetBackup destination volumes?
Yes. In fact, data replicated with SnapMirror does not lose its space efficiency during the replication process. SnapMirror support is available in two ways: as part of NetBackup versions 6.5 and 6.0 MP5, or separately from Symantec for use with NetBackup 6 MP4. SnapMirror provides a highly storage-efficient method for protecting NetBackup data residing within SnapVault destination volumes for cost-effective disaster recovery.
6. Does SnapVault for NetBackup offer data deduplication?
Yes. SnapVault for NetBackup incorporates time-based deduplication, which can reduce backup storage requirements by up to 90% (sometimes even more!). This form of deduplication is done "on the fly" and requires no temporary storage. As customers run the same NetBackup jobs over, they naturally back up many of the same files, which may have changed very little. However, after a file is backed up once using SnapVault for NetBackup, only the blocks that changed since the previous backup are saved, eliminating the storage waste that comes from storing the same data over and over again in successive backups. This is made possible through close integration with NetBackup and understanding of the NetBackup data format.
7. Does NetApp A-SIS deduplication work with NetBackup?
A-SIS can deduplicate existing NetBackup images on a NearStore secondary storage system. However, it does not convert them into SnapVault images. SnapVault for NetBackup is required to convert existing images to a combined SnapVault/NetBackup format. Support for A-SIS deduplication is planned for a future release of SnapVault for NetBackup in order to further increase storage efficiencies.
8. What advantages does NearStore VTL provide compared with backing up to a NetBackup disk storage unit (DSU)?
NearStore VTL provides significant advantages over basic DSUs in the areas of management, scalability, and performance. It appears exactly like a tape library to NetBackup, enabling it to be easily managed and shared without changing processes and without requiring backup administrators to become disk specialists. Because it is optimized specifically for tape I/O, NearStore VTL typically delivers 5 to 10 times higher aggregate throughput than a corresponding disk system, enabling it to meet the most challenging data center backup windows.
9. Can NetBackup communicate via NDMP to a NearStore VTL?
Yes. NetBackup can stream backups to a NearStore VTL in any format supported with physical tape, including NDMP. You can typically improve NDMP performance by up to 30% by writing to a VTL instead of tape.
10. Does the NearStore VTL support data deduplication?
NetApp has announced plans to offer an upgrade that will enable NearStore VTL data deduplication in a future software release. Unlike other VTL systems, NearStore VTL deduplication technology has been designed to meet data center performance requirements by supporting both in-line and post-process methods of removing redundant data.
